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1st time house buyer, potentially serious structural issues found... anyone have advice re negotiating price reduction / if I should pull out? (self.asklemmy)

submitted 1 year ago by Transcendant to c/asklemmy

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Hey all.

Finally in my 40s I'm fortunate enough (with a lot of family help & a mortgage) to be buying a home. It's end-of-terrace; just spoke to the surveyor today after he's done most of the inspection and he's found a lot of structural problems.

Feeling a bit defeated, it's taken so long to get to this stage of having an offer accepted, and being close to exchanging contracts. It's an old house so while I wasn't expecting it to be fault-free, I'm quite disappointed and I guess looking for some advice / reassurance.

Not got the report in text yet but he mentioned potential subsidence; rising damp; cracked walls; problem with the chimney stack; window frames; and others. Said it's all stuff that can be fixed, but potentially expensive. My plan is to wait for the text report next week, then contact the estate agent and attempt to negotiate a price reduction in line with the cost of the repairs, which imo will run into at least £15k. Considering it's on the market for £85k, and the owner wouldn't even put the electric on for viewing because she didn't want to pay £1 a day standing charge, I'm anticipating some pushback.

But, should I even bother? Is this 'sunk cost fallacy' at play? I certainly feel like if they're not prepared to negotiate re repairs then I have to walk away as I could buy a well-maintained property round here for the total cost of around £100k!

Any advice much appreciated.

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[–] Transcendant 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

the seller is much more transparent.

Am trying to take the attitude of not taking it personally, it's just business and the seller is trying to maximise what they get for the house... but it's hard not to feel deceived. They surely must have known there are serious issues and clearly have not priced the house accordingly. It's frustrating to have to dig out these issues, every buyer is going to pay for a survey and waste money finding out things that should really have been disclosed by the seller.

Apparently in Norway, the seller pays for and provides a survey to all prospective buyers. Seems a much more efficient and fair way of doing things.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In the US there are some things covered in the survey and some not. We paid for an independent home inspector to go top to bottom of ours before purchase. I tested the water, had the most recent electrician go over our system, and talked to the neighbors about the history of the property. It was very good to have all that information and worth the money to pay for. It greatly reduced the worry and I got to know the property before buying it.

[–] Transcendant 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah peace of mind is priceless. Plus as I'm buying via a mortgage, there's no question about getting surveys done... iirc the provider would be content with a 'basic' survey but I felt like it was worth the extra ~£80 to go for a more in-depth one!

Am trying to look at it not as £500 wasted, but a £500 expense that's saved me from potentially making a very bad purchase.